A death in the Library of Worlds forces the characters of the murdered writer to find his killer. With the fate of several literary worlds at stake, the murderer must be stopped if the Library is to survive.

"Haven, you see," Model One explains. "Is where my creator resides. He and several businessmen were sick of having the State tax and oppress them, so they built a city of their own on reclaimed land. The State's been driven off whenever they approach, but they've been quiet recently."

The vessel continues on its way. Clockroach thinks he can scan some warships nearby, but as they go further out to sea, the signatures become more faint. Whoever is pursuing them, the State, likely wants this construct for some reason.

"Just why does the State want to get a hold of you, Model One?" Chandi asks the construct, relieved of her duty at the gun turret. "Is it perhaps that they want you as ransom to use against your maker and his partners?"

"I'm sorry about your father," Model One says. "Mine believes that self aware constructs should be legally treated as people. We still have duties and responsibilities, but slavery by any other name's still slavery. The State that my master fights forces people into those Harvesting Facilities to power their stagnant economy and rotten industries."

Model One looks at a warning light on the dash board. "Crap!" it exclaims. "Someone's behind us!"

Clockroach can see another gunboat closing the distance behind them, but there is only one person driving it, with no gunner or co-pilot. Clockroach moves his lenses to get a better image, and sees the man dissolve into a swarm of insects, heading directly for their amphibious armored carrier.

Geminos detaches the explosive eye from the back of the vehicle and sends it winging towards the cluster of insects, set to explode as soon as it reaches Eleutherios. At the same time he starts make more explosive biomorphs.

He points at Chandi and Moros. "Do you have enough stored pain energy to let her keep a force field up around us that will keep him out? Or did you use it all up with the water monster? If you can keep him away for a few minutes, I can make enough biomorphs to kill most of that swarm. I'd really like to be rid of this bastard."

Moros tries to conjure up a wall of water, but fails. Whenever he moves to cast thaumaturgy, something drains his energy. Clockroach opens fire with the gun turret, with the slow ether pulses (which move significantly slower than bullets) not hitting many parts of the swarm. Some of the insects fall into the water.

Suddenly, the transport stops. Interestingly, there is no whiplash, no momentum, and it seems the velocity went from fast to nothing with no effect on anything inside. Chandi and Clockroach detect powerful thaumokinetics at work.The systems in the transport, however, suddenly cease to respond, and even the gun turret is locked.

Eleutherios' voice suddenly fills the inside of the craft. "Pardon my rude interruption," he says. "But I must ask: Are you still the Librarians' pawns, or have you developed enough brains to question them?"

"To be frank," Clockroach calls back, "If you're not trying to kill us I don't think we have too big of a problem with you any more. Furthermore, I should imagine that The State would be as repugnant to you as it is to us, yes?"

"I don't intend to attack you, since certain events have changed my own allegiances," the voice says. "The Radicals tried to fuck me over and kill me! They wanted to just keep mass producing Sus. The idiots. But, assuming you don't care about the Librarians, I have a deal you may be interested in."

"You don't," the mercenary continues. "But, I'm not saying this out of compassion. I'm offering something for our mutual self interest. I'm sure you know about how the harvesting process the Radicals use works. Destroy a tomeworld to transport all the goods into the real world."

There is a pause, and some excitement in his voice.

"But there's something that your creator found in the Book of Thoth," he explains. "That process can also work in reverse. Not so much in the sense of restoring a tomeworld, but in the sense of turning a real world place into a Tomeworld."

"Not directly," the disembodied voice continues. "But it is possible to trap a small area or region, and directly import it into a tomeworld. I would like your help to give the Librarians a taste of what it's like to be characters, for once."

"That is part of it," Eleutherios explains. "But I can provide assistance in other ways. I can give each of you some of my experiences in combat. You should at least be more efficient in a fight."

"What if we already are?" Ades boasts.

"There's other things. Namely, I know where the Book of Thoth is," he says. "I personally hid it to keep the Librarians guessing. However, before we retrieve it, I need you to help me acquire certain thaumaturgical components for converting the Library into a Tomeworld."

"Then what shall we do?" Chandi asks.

"Help Model One on his mission. The head of Haven has been informed of the details to the plot. He needs to deploy some of the secrets that Model One has learned. Afterwards, I will provide more information," Eleutherios explains. "Don't you have any questions on the death of your creator? I'd at least be a bit curious myself."

Chandi is intrigued by the idea, but the boat's displacement does nothing to win her over.

"At the moment, you and the Librarians do not seem so very different," the warrior-diplomat chides the bodiless voice of Eleutherios. "You are holding us against our will and, much like them, make a dubious offer in exchange for our services. It might very well be that in time we shall have to deceive and punish you in a similar manner as we would perhaps do to the Librarians."

All of a sudden, a jolt rocks the transport. Chandi has difficulty standing before regaining her balance. Eleutherios' empty gunboat is in front of them, tugging them along with some sort of thaumokinetic binding.

"If you don't want to follow my plan, fine," Eleutherios says. "But I'd like to give the others that chance. As for stopping you, it was merely to show a few tricks I have learned from the Book itself. Not even the Librarians know where I placed it."

The vague shape of a man forms out of the insects that begin to crawl up through the walls.

"I'll even be as kind as to give you a lift to Haven," he says. "If you want, I'll even keep you company and explain everything. If not, I'll go. You were created as a warrior with diplomatic skills, Chandi. I am hoping you use them. We have nothing to gain from squabbling now."